Card sorting device



June 1951 D. H. YOUNG CARD SORTING DEVICE Filed June 18, 1945 INVENTOR. DON H. YOUNG Ml/W A 7' TOR/VEYS Patented June 5, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARD SORTING DEVICE Don H. Young, Athens, Ohio, assignor to The McBee Company, Athens, Ohio, a corporation Application June 18, 1945, Serial No. 600,181

1 Claim. (01. 129--16.1)

This invention relates to devices for sorting marginally punched record cards, checks and the like.

One of the commonly used devices for sequence sorting of marginally punched cards of the type shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,544,172, issued to A. Perkins on June 30, 1925, is a long sorting rod or needle, which is provided at one end with a handle. The latter is grasped in the hand of the operator and the other end of the needle or rod is projected through the selected punched hole of a stack of cards, which are then upraised by means of the needle and held suspended thereon. The needle is then jarred up and down to insure that the cards which are notched in register with the needle will separate and drop from the stack. Particularly in the case of comparatively large cards, the ordinary number thereof placed in a stack for sorting is of considerable weight and such a sorting operation requires muscular strength and is excessively fatiguing, due to the fact that the weight of the cards bears on the needle at a point laterally offset relative to the handle. Further, the fact that the needle is supported only at one end causes it to flex during the sorting which detracts from the separating effect of the needle while shaking the stack when the latter is suspended on the needle.

It is the principal object of my present invention to provide an improved device of simple construction which is efficient in peration and which overcomes the disadvantages of handled sorting rods and needles of the type hitherto employed as above set forth.

One form which the invention may assume is exemplified in the following description and illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying the preferred form of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one type of marginall punched card in connection with which my improved device may be employed.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of my improved device with a part thereof broken away and in section to more fully disclose certain details of construction, and in which figure the manner of use of my improved device is disclosed.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, Hl indicates a record card of the type commonly known as Keysort card which is used for record keeping and other purposes. This card is generally of the type shown in the patent to A. Perkins No. 1,544,172. It is in connection with cards of this character that my present device is to be used. It will be obvious, however, to those skilled in the art that various other types of marginally punched cards can be sorted by means of my improved device.

In general, cards of this character are provided with marginally punched holes II, which holes may be notched out to the edge of the card to indicate a selected classification, such notching being shown at I2. It is unnecessary to more particularly describe the construction and use of cards of this character because, as before stated, they are widely used and well known.

My present invention is concerned with a device M for sorting marginally punched cards. As shown in the drawings, this device is generally bail-shaped in form and composed of a rigid. gripping section i5, from one end of which depends a rigid fixed leg It. From the other end of the gripping section I5 depends a pivotal leg H, which may be termed a latching leg. This latching leg I? is pivotally connected at its upper end to the end of the gripping section l5 opposite the leg I6 by means of a pivot pin or pintle l8.

The pivotal connection between the gripping section l5 and the latching leg ll enables the latter to swing longitudinally of the device toward and away from the leg IS. The length of the gripping section l5 may be as desired, so long that it is of sufiicient length to enable it to be grasped in the hand of the operator as shown in Fig. 3.

A sorting rod or needle I9 is provided which is fixed at one end in the terminal of the fixed leg l6 and extends substantially parallel to the gripping section I5 so that it may be projected through an opening 20 in the free end of the latching leg ll. The length of the sorting rod or needle I9 is such that the latching leg I! may be disengaged therefrom by pivotal movement, as shown in Fig. 3, but will be engaged therewith, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, when the latching leg I! depends substantially in parallelism with the fixed leg [6.

It is seen that at the point where the latching leg !1 is connected with the handle section (5 of the device, the handle section 15 is bifurcated so as to receive the upper end of the latching leg l1. Cooperating shoulders 2|, 22 and 23 are provided on the latching leg I! and within the bifurcated portion of the handle section l5 so as to limit the movement of the latching leg I! about its pivot pin I8.

At the end of the latching leg opposite the end thereof which engages the rod or needle IS, the

latching leg is formed with an arcuate knurled portion 24 which projects beyond the handle section I5 so that it may be engaged by the thumb of the hand which grasps the handle section I5. That is to say, when the device is grasped in the hand of the user, the thumb of the hand may be placed'on the arcuate section 24 of the latching leg I! and may be utilized to pivot the leg I1 and disengage the latching leg I1 from the end of the sorting rod or needle I9 to enable the same to be projected through a stack of cards 25. Upon the release of the latching leg H, a spring 26 will return the latching leg I! to its normalposition,

engaging the selector rod or needle I9, all as shown in Fig. 3.

In use, the device is constructed substantially as shown in the drawings and it is grasped in the hand of the user as shown in Fig. 3. The latching leg I! is then swung about its pivotal point to an inefiective position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and the sorting rod or needle I9 is projected through the selected hole of a stack of cards 25. The latching leg l'l, is then released and the spring 26 causes it to swing to an efiective p0- sition, engaging the end of the selector rod 'ojr needle I9. The operator may then jog the stack of cards up and down to efiect separation-of the notched cards. During this operationitisseen that the needle or rod I9 is supported at both ends so as to give a maximum jarring motion to the stack during the separating operation. Also, it is seen that the weight. of the cards will be disposed directly under the hand of the user so that.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in its construction by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

Ina device of the character described a substantially L-shaped portable body member including a shank portion constituting a handle and a right angularly disposed leg portion, a rigid elongated straight sorting needle carried at the extremity of said leg portion and lying parallel with said handle, a pivotally mounted keeper pivotally secured to the free end of said handle and movable to and from said needle for retaining and releasing cards empaled thereby, an actuator for said keeper formed as an extension thereof protruding beyond said handle and resilient means for normally urging said keeper in engagement with said needle, the end of said handle being bifurcated and said keeper being pivotally mounted between the furcations thereof, said resilient means comprising a spring, one end oi which is seated within the handle while the opposite end thereof abuts the protruding actuating portion of said keeper.

DON H. YOUNG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Number Name Date 138,086 Henning Apr. 22, 1873 202,013 Foster Apr. 2, 1878 362,680 Tischer May 10, 1887 681,412 Palmer Apr. 17, 1888 674,245 Milliken May 1'4, 1901 1,146,465 Wardy July 13,1915 2,045,040 Marihugh June 23, 1936 2,164,514 Goldstein July 4, 1939 

